As I have stated on numerous posts, I'm a sucker for a great trailer. A truly great trailer will not only get you excited to see the film but will have you asking just enough questions to keep you guessing until the film is released. Now, there are plenty of films that spoil the best parts right in the trailer. Remember Amazing Spider-Man 2? Yeah . . . it was pretty obvious that the film was spoiled within those 2 and a half minutes. I feel like that's really hard to do. After all, most movies are over two hours. But then again . . . What do I know?
I'd like to share with you some of my all time favorite movie previews. Granted, some of these are for movies that may have turned out not so great, but it doesn't change the fact that the trailer was still fun to watch. Basically for some of these, I'm gonna tell you how movie studios tricked me out of $10. ENJOY!.
SUPERMAN RETURNS TRAILER #2
Nowadays nostalgia is a key selling point to many films that are released. It seems as though Bryan Singer and Warner Bros thought of that before all these reboots and reboot/sequels took over the market. My favorite part of this trailer is definitely the original John Williams score laced throughout. It gives the trailer an epic and exciting feel. While the movie itself is underwhelming, the music and the nostalgia really helped sell this film to me. I grew up on the Christopher Reeve Superman films. I never get tired of them. This trailer reignited my Superman passion.
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST TRAILER #3
Hey! Speaking of Bryan Singer! I will confess that all the DOFP trailers are outstanding and got me super excited to see the film. However, I'm gonna give the prize to this one due to the fact that it showcased more of the action and spectacle of the film. The other trailers showed that the film was full of emotion and drama. Yes, action scenes were included but this trailer was balls to the wall action! Plus the inclusion of Kashmir as the musical backdrop made this trailer a lot more exciting. Music can make or break a trailer and like my Superman suggestion, this trailer kicks a lot more ass due to the song choice.
SPIDER-MAN TEASER
There are a couple entries on this list that may shock you. Remember when I said a good trailer will get you excited to see the film? Usually they will include just enough dialogue or plot points to let you know what type of movie you'll be seeing. However, there are a few that don't really show you anything and yet they are amazing. Remember that first teaser for Star Wars: the Force Awakens? That thing showed NOTHING and got everyone all riled up. Well, I'll never forget this preview. Unfortunately it was pulled due to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. But before then . . . Man . . . it was a good time to be 14 years old. This was before YouTube and Yahoo and all that jazz. If you wanted to see a movie preview, you had to go to the movies or hope that your computer wouldn't freeze every 2 seconds while loading a video.
Like I said, I'll never forget this one. Nowadays, new trailers are released online and in the movie theaters. I remember being in the theater with my mom and seeing this preview for the first and only time. I had no idea what it was for in the beginning. When the camera whipped around and showed Spidey's face I cheered. It was an incredible moment for me. I wish more teasers would just surprise us like this one did. I mean, yeah the tag line is a little cheesy, but you gotta remember that this was the first time Spider-Man was going to be in a live action film. It was an exciting time to be a comic book fan.
THE DARK KNIGHT THEATRICAL TRAILER #1
Here's another trailer that I don't think I'll forget for as long as I live. Mainly because I watched it about 100 times. I don't think I'm exaggerating. There was a really cool online marketing campaign going on for the film and this trailer was released as part of that. I kept in on my computer and watched it over and over again. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that this film was going to be amazing. I was one of the few people that believed that Heath Ledger would be amazing as the Joker. This trailer proved me right. Every single line of dialogue, every moment he was on screen, I felt as though the Joker that I loved/hated from the comic books was coming to life. He was doing everything the Joker should do: He was scaring people, making jokes, threatening Batman, and laughing maniacally the whole time.
This trailer came out right before Christmas. I remember watching it all throughout December. Unfortunately, that January was when Heath Ledger passed away. I couldn't watch this preview for a few weeks. I feared that with him gone, the film would suffer. Luckily, that was not at all the case. His performance was intact and completely mesmerizing. For me, the anticipation for this film kicked into high gear with this preview. And I was not at all disappointed when the film was released. I was about to see the definitive Joker vs Batman story. I knew it :)
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER TEASER
Like my Spider-Man choice, this teaser is actually a scene from the movie. Now I will admit that the film itself is disappointing, but I think we can all agree that this preview and the special effects on The Surfer were incredible. I didn't really grow up reading the Fantastic Four. I knew who they were and I liked them, but I didn't necessarily follow the comics. This trailer made me pick up a few original Stan Lee FF comics. I was blown away by them. I thought they were so cool and fun. This trailer, and the film itself (tried), to emulate the fun and excitement and danger of the original Stan Lee / Jack Kirby comics. Now, I consider the Silver Surfer one of the coolest and best Marvel space characters. One can only hope that Fox and Marvel work out a deal to get him in a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel or possibly Avengers: Infinity War.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON TEASER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmeOjFno6Do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmeOjFno6Do
Now THIS was a preview! Holy shit! Ultron is terrifying! Remember when I said a good song/music choice can make or break a trailer? Well, the haunting version of Pinnochio's "No Strings on Me" during this trailer truly set the mood. This was going to be a worthy sequel to the Avengers. Or you know . . . So we thought. Despite the film being a little more, shall we say, "Joss Whedony" than the trailers would have let us believe, I still look back fondly on this preview. It looked like our heroes had met their match. And plus, James Spader could read the phonebook and make it scary. This was the Ultron I knew from the comics. Menacing, uncompromising, and seemingly unstoppable. If only the film was as dark as this preview promised . . . Oh well . . . I still enjoyed it!
TERMINATOR: SALVATION TEASER
Again, another case of the movie not turning out so great, BUT this trailer is really cool! It's not very long, but it gets the point across that this is going to be a totally different looking Terminator film than we're used to seeing. Gone is the time travel, running from the unstoppable killer, trying to prevent Judgment Day Terminator films. This was the future that Reese told us about in the first Terminator film. And truth be told, this was the film I always wanted to see. There were a lot of scenes in the film that I did enjoy. I still like this trailer, I like the idea of seeing John Connor kick Terminator ass in the future.
MAN OF STEEL OFFICIAL TRAILER #3
Now THIS was an epic trailer! This trailer promised (and in my opinion delivered) the Superman movie I always wanted to see. It had the best elements of my favorite Superman stories like Smallville, Birthright, All Star Superman, Superman: Earth One and even a little bit of Superman II. It was going to be an non stop action thrill ride, something that was sorely lacking from the previous Superman films whether it was due to special effects limitations or whatever their problem was with Superman Returns (still a great trailer though). Again, the music totally makes this trailer great. It was confirmed that it was Hans Zimmer new score for the film. It sounded epic and exciting. The trailer is better off for it. Think what you will about Zack Snyder, the man can craft some incredible visuals. The trailer looks and feels fantastic. For me, it left little doubt that I was gonna get the Superman film I was dreamed of. Lucky for me, I did get just that :)
STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH TEASER
Not a comic book, but still one of my favorite trailers ever made. Lucasfilm's Marketing Department clearly thought this would be the last teaser ever shown for a Star Wars film and wanted to ramp up the nostalgia in a big way. It starts off simple enough with imagery from the previous films, then we're treated to Anakin looking very much like a Sith, and then the reveal of Darth Vader himself. All we really knew about this film at the time was that it was going to be about old Ben Kenobi's speech on how the Jedi were destroyed by his former student. This trailer packs quite a punch for being just over 90 seconds long. We see the usual War in the Stars (haha), some crazy aliens, familiar faces like Chewbacca, Padme, Yoda, and Mace Windu, and then brief glimpses of arguably the most anticipated scene in the entire film - Obi Wan vs. Anakin. When the trailer ends, it ends much too soon! More! More! This was going to be the film that the fans wanted to see from the very beginning! To me, it did not disappoint.
BATMAN BEGINS TEASER
This is my favorite trailer of all time. Why, you may ask? Well because it's freaking Batman!!!!! Like I said with my Spider-Man choice, this trailer shows you nothing but its ending is enough to get fans riled up. I remember seeing this trailer online, back when that was kind of a rare thing. I remember thinking, "This is how you make a trailer!" Some of my friends complained that it didn't show anything. I would always argue that that was the point. It's better to get just a taste of what's to come. This movie looked nothing like the Batman films we were used to. It didn't have flashy lights, crazy costumes, and outrageous set pieces. It looked and felt like it took place in our world. It was dark, scary, and intimidating. This was the Batman movie I had been waiting for my whole life. This was going to be unlike any other superhero film I had ever seen. I couldn't wait.
You might now be wondering why I included the Ben Affleck Batman picture at the beginning of this article. Well . . . I originally was going to include that trailer and the recent Force Awakens trailers but I decided to keep this limited to movies that have already been released.
I love going to the movies and seeing new trailers. Nowadays, it's so easy to watch a trailer on your phone, iPad, Kindle, laptop, or whatever new fancy device is currently being invented. Trailers are the first glimpse we get at a new film. The better they are, the more likely we are to see the movie. And in my opinion, nobody does it better than comic book trailers. They show us enough spectacle, humor, action, drama, all that good stuff to get us excited. I'm looking forward to the next batch of Marvel, DC, and Lucasfilm trailers. Gotta have something to blog about right?
Till Next Time!
JJ - the Comic Junkie!
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